Related papers: Pulsar Astronomy: the HST Contribution
With 10m class telescopes as well as with time-tagging detectors on board of HST and FUSE, the analysis of time-resolved spectra for pulsating white dwarfs becomes feasible. We present simulated time-resolved spectra for the hot pulsating…
The X-ray spectra of isolated neutron stars (INSs) typically include a thermal component, that comes from the cooling surface, and a non-thermal component, produced by highly-relativistic particles accelerated in the stellar magnetosphere.…
Integrated ground-based and HST optical studies of isolated neutron stars have provided important independent datasets in the determination of emission activity, particularly in the fitting of anticipated Rayleigh-Jeans extrapolations from…
Optical polarisation measurements are key tests for different models of the pulsar magnetosphere. Furthermore, comparing the relative orientation of the phase-averaged linear polarisation direction and the pulsar proper motion vector may…
A new single pulse behaviour has been identified in two pulsars, B0919+06 and B1859+07. Normally both starts emit bright subpulses in a region near the trailing edge of heir profile. However, occasionally these stars exhibit "events"…
The parabolic structure of the secondary or conjugate spectra of pulsars is often the result of isolated one-dimensional (or at least highly anisotropic) lenses in the ISM. The curvature of these features contains information about the…
Optical observations of pulsars are crucial to study the neutron star properties, from the structure and composition of the interior, to the properties and geometry of the magnetosphere. Historically, X and gamma-ray observations have paved…
The X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission XMM-Newton is ESA's largest observatory so far; it is dedicated to explore the Universe in the 0.2 - 15 keV X-ray band of the electromagnetic spectrum. Because of its large collecting area very faint sources…
The largest number of known young neutron stars are observed as spin-powered pulsars. While the majority of those are detected at radio frequencies, an increasing number can be studied at other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum as well.…
Only 1% of the Isolated Neutron Star (INS) population has been identified in the optical, albeit with different degrees of confidence. Optical observations of INSs are reviewed and their emission properties discussed in an evolutionary…
Polarisation measurements of pulsars offer an unique insight into the geometry of the emission regions in the neutron star magnetosphere. Therefore, they provide observational constraints on the different models proposed for the pulsar…
The EGRET catalogue of unidentified X-ray sources has more objects along the galactic disk than at high galactic latitude, where identifications are comparatively easier. On the other hand, the Egret/GRO mission has already identified…
We have used a set of archived HST/WFPC2 exposures of the inner regions of the Crab Nebula to obtain a new measurement of the pulsar proper motion, the first after the original work of Wyckoff & Murray, more than 20 years ago. Our…
Optical and near-infrared observations are compiled for the three gamma-ray binaries hosting Be stars: PSR B1259-63, LSI+61 303, and HESS J0632+057. The emissions from the Be disk are considered to vary according to the changes in its…
The deeper and more extended survey of the central parts of the Galactic Plane by H.E.S.S. during 2005-2007 has revealed a number of new point-like, as well as, extended sources. Two point-like sources can be associated to two remarkable…
We present new data of the Crab pulsar and its environment. Images taken in the infrared with ISAAC allow us to measure the pulsar spectrum and to reveal the red knot close to the pulsar. Complementary optical data from VLT and HST are…
Middle-aged, cooling neutron stars are observed both as relatively rapidly spinning radio pulsars and as more slowly spinning, strongly magnetized isolated neutron stars (INSs), which stand out by their thermal X-ray spectra. The difference…
The Vela and Geminga pulsars are rotation powered neutron stars, which have been identified in various spectral domains, from the near-infrared to hard $\gamma$-rays. In the near-infrared they exhibit tentative emission excesses, as…
Extended gamma-ray sources surrounding middle-aged pulsars, primarily observed at teraelectronvolt energies, have been interpreted as pulsar halos, where relativistic $e^\pm$ diffuse into the interstellar medium and produce inverse-Compton…
We have used the ESO NTT/EMMI and VLT/FORS1 instruments to examine the LMC supernova remnant 0540-69.3 as well as its pulsar (PSR B0540-69) and pulsar-powered nebula in the optical range.Spectroscopic observations of the remnant covering…